Kasargod: Artificially ripened mangoes have flooded the market and in a raid, Food Security Department has confiscated 80 such boxes of precarious artificially ripened mangoes from Kasargod area.

The mangoes were seized from a house in Mulleriya and each box is said to be carrying over 20 kgs of mangoes. The samples of the mangoes have been sent for lab testing to Kozhikode.

Several individuals have been running the lucrative business of artificially ripening fruits using Calcium carbide, which is considered to be extremely hazardous to health.

As per sources, even banana is ripened using the same technique.